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Abstract:

To encourage recipients of electronic messages to respond in a timely
manner, certain messages can be designated as time-critical messages.
Such messages are delivered with an allowable response time attribute. If
the recipient responds to the message within the allowable response time,
nothing happens. If the recipient fails to respond within the allowable
response time, the functionality of the recipient's system is altered in
a way that gives the recipient an incentive to respond. For example, the
recipient's system may be inhibited from receiving any further messages
until the recipient responds to the time-critical message. Embodiments
are described for implementing time-critical messaging in e-mail, instant
messaging and voicemail systems.

Claims:

1. A method of creating an incentive for a user of a target system to
respond to a time-critical electronic message received from a user of a
source system comprising:initiating a timing operation upon receipt of
the time-critical electronic message at the target system; andchanging
functionality of the target system if the timing operation completes
before a response to the time-critical electronic message is transmitted
by the target system.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein initiating a timing operation
further comprises:extracting an allowable response time value from the
received time-critical electronic message; andchanging the duration of
the timing operation in accordance with the extracted allowable response
time.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein initiating a timing operation
further comprises:setting a start count for a countdown timer at a value
dependent upon the extracted allowable response time value; andtriggering
the countdown tinier to count from the start count towards zero.

4. A method according to claim 3 further comprising terminating the timing
operation upon transmission of a response by the target system

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein changing functionality of the
target system comprises disabling the reception of further electronic
messages at the target system until a response to the time-critical
electronic message is transmitted by the target system.

6. A method according to claim 4 wherein changing functionality of the
target system comprises inhibiting any use of the target system other
than to respond to the time-critical electronic message

7. A method according to claim 4 further comprising presenting the
time-critical electronic message at the target system in a distinctive
manner to alert the user of the target system to the time-critical
message.

8. A computer program product for creating an incentive for a user of a
target system to respond to a time-critical electronic message received
from a user of a source system, said computer program product including a
computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied
therewith, said computer usable program code comprising:computer usable
program code configured to initiate a timing operation upon receipt of
the time-critical electronic message at the target system; andcomputer
usable program code configured to change functionality of the target
system if the timing operation completes before a response to the
time-critical electronic message is transmitted by the target system.

9. A computer program product according to claim 8 wherein said computer
usable program code configured to initiate a timing operation upon
receipt of the time-critical electronic message at the target system
further comprises;computer usable program code configured to extract an
allowable response time value from the received time-critical electronic
message; andcomputer usable program code configured to change the
duration of the timing operation in accordance with the extracted
allowable response time value.

10. A computer program product according to claim 9 wherein said computer
usable program code configured to initiate a timing operation upon
receipt of the time-critical electronic message at the target system
further comprises:computer usable program code configured to have a start
count for a countdown timer in the value dependent upon the extracted
allowable response time; andcomputer usable program code configured to
trigger the countdown timer to count from the start count towards zero.

11. A computer program product according to claim 10 further comprising
computer usable program code configured to terminate the timing operation
upon transmission of a response by the target system.

12. A computer program product according to claim 11 wherein said computer
usable program code configured to change functionality of the target
system if the timing operation completes before a response to the
time-critical electronic message is transmitted by the target system
further comprises computer usable program code configured to disable the
reception of further electronic messages at the target system until a
response to the time-critical electronic message is transmitted by the
target system.

13. A computer program product according to claim 11 wherein said computer
usable program code configured to change functionality of the target
system if the timing operation completes before a response to the
time-critical electronic message is transmitted by the target system
further comprises computer usable program code configured to inhibit any
use of the target system other than to respond to the time-critical
electronic message.

14. A computer program product according to claim 12 further comprising
computer usable program code configured to present the time-critical
electronic message at the target system in a distinctive manner to alert
the user of the target system to the time-critical electronic message.

15. A electronic messaging system for creating an incentive for a user of
a target system to respond to a time-critical electronic message received
from a user of a source system comprising:a timing component for
performing a timing operation upon receipt of the time-critical
electronic message at the target system; anda system control component
for changing functionality of the target system if the timing operation
completes before a response to the time-critical electronic message is
transmitted by the target system.

16. A messaging system according to claim 15 wherein said timing component
further comprises:a message parser for extracting an allowable response
time value from the received time-critical electronic message; anda timer
change control component for changing the duration of the timing
operation in accordance with the extracted allowable response time value.

17. A messaging system according to claim 16 wherein said timing component
further comprises a counter control component for setting a start count
for a countdown timer at a value dependent upon the extracted allowable
response time value and for triggering the countdown timer to begin
counting from the start count towards zero.

18. A messaging system according to claim 17 wherein said counter control
component further comprises a termination component for terminating a
timing operation upon transmission of a response by the target system.

19. A messaging system according to claim 18 wherein said system control
component further comprises a component for disabling the reception of
further messages at the target system until a response to the
time-critical electronic message is transmitted by the target system.

20. A messaging system according to claim 18 wherein said system control
component further comprises a component for inhibiting any use of the
target system other than to respond to the time-critical electronic
message.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001]The present invention relates to electronic messaging systems and to
more particularly to electronic messaging systems in which recipients of
time critical messages are given strong encouragement to reply to those
messages in a timely manner.

[0002]The existence of electronic messaging systems and the development of
high-speed global networks over which electronic messages can be
transmitted have fundamentally changed how business and personal life is
conducted. E-mail users can compose and send extremely detailed messages
that may be delivered to recipients around the world almost in real time.
Instant messaging (IM) users can also compose and send impromptu messages
that can pop up (appear) on the computer display screen of a recipient
that is already logged into the IM system, also almost in real time.
Almost anyone with access to a touch tone telephone can leave a voicemail
message for another telephone user who has subscribed to a voicemail
service.

[0003]With any of these types of systems, a sender can conveniently
provide information to many recipients concurrently or request
information from such recipients. At times, a sender may have an urgent
or even critical need for the requested information. Unfortunately, a
recipient of an electronic message may not always feel the same sense of
urgency as the sender. If that happens, a recipient may choose to ignore
the sender's message. There has been little a sender could do to
encourage a recipient to respond to a message the sender considered
time-critical.

[0004]There is a need for a mechanism that will strongly encourage
recipients of time-critical electronic messages to reply to those
messages in a timely manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005]The present invention may be implemented as a method of creating an
incentive for a target system user to respond to a time-critical
electronic message received from a source system user. The timing
operation is initiated upon receipt of the time-critical electronic
message at the target system. If the timing operation completes before a
response to the time-critical electronic message is transmitted by the
target system, the operation of the target system is changed. The
operation changes will be such as to provide the target system user an
incentive to respond to the time-critical electronic message.

[0006]The present invention may also be implemented as a computer program
product for creating an incentive for a target system user to respond to
a time-critical electronic message received from a source system user.
The computer program product includes a computer usable medium embodying
computer usable program code configured to initiate a timing operation
upon receipt of a time-critical electronic message at the target system
and code configured to change the operation of the target system if the
timing operation completes before a response to the time-critical
electronic message is transmitted by the target system.

[0007]The present invention may also be implemented as an electronic
messaging target system for creating an incentive for a target system
user to respond to a time-critical electronic message received at the
system. The system includes a timing component that performs the timing
operation upon receipt of a time-critical electronic message. The system
also includes a system control component for changing the operation of
the target system if the timing operation completes before a response to
the time-critical electronic message is transmitted by the target system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a generalized network in which
electronic messaging can be implemented.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a more detailed illustration of components of an e-mail
electronic messaging system.

[0010]FIG. 3 is a more detailed illustration of components of an instant
messaging electronic messaging system.

[0011]FIG. 4 is a more detailed illustration of components of a voicemail
electronic messaging system.

[0012]FIG. 5 is a flow chart of operations that are performed at a target
system to encourage a recipient of the time-critical message to respond
to that message in a timely manner.

[0013]FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a generalized process for sending a
time-critical message.

[0014]FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a process for sending time-critical
message in a typical voicemail electronic messaging system.

[0015]FIG. 8 is an example of an e-mail message template that can be used
in an implementation of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of components of a
special-purpose hardware component that can be used in implementing the
present invention.

[0017]FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of the major components of a
general purpose programmable computer system that can be used in
implementing the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018]As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present
invention may be embodied as a method, system, or computer program
product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an
entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including
firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining
software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to
herein as a "circuit" "module" or "system." Furthermore, the present
invention may take the form of a computer program product on a
computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code
embodied in the medium.

[0019]Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may be
utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for
example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,
electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or
propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the
computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical
connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard
disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,
a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage
device, a transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or an
intranet, or a magnetic storage device. Note that the computer-usable or
computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium
upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically
captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other
medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable
manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. In the
context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium
may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or
transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction
execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer-usable medium may
include a propagated data signal with the computer-usable program code
embodied therewith, either in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The
computer usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate
medium, including but not limited to the Internet, wireline, optical
fiber cable, RF, etc.

[0020]Computer program code for carrying out operations of the present
invention may be written in an object oriented programming language such
as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. However, the computer program code
for carrying out operations of the present invention may also be written
in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C"
programming language or similar programming languages. The program code
may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's
computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's
computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote
computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be
connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a
wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service
Provider).

[0021]The present invention is described below with reference to flowchart
illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and
computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It
will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or
block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program
instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a
processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or
other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such
that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or
other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for
implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block
diagram block or blocks.

[0022]These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable
data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that
the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an
article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the
function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or
blocks.

[0023]The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer
or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of
operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable
apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the
instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable
apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in
the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

[0024]Electronic messaging systems are generally implemented using a
client/server architecture in which many of the messaging functions are
implemented in server devices, each of which supports multiple messaging
client devices used by the human users of the electronic messaging
systems. Referring to FIG. 1 for examples, a first messaging server 10 is
shown with directly-connected messaging clients 12, 14, and 16, each of
which is used by one or more human users. A second messaging server 20 is
shown with three directly-connected messaging clients 22, 24, and 26
while third messaging server 30 is shown with two messaging clients 32
and 34. While only a few messaging clients are shown in the Figure for
each of the messaging servers, this is for ease of illustration only. In
practice, a messaging server ordinarily serves hundreds or perhaps
thousands of messaging clients.

[0025]Typically, messaging servers communicate with one another through a
network 36 which may be a local area network or a wide area network, such
as a company intranet or a publicly accessible network, one example of
which is the Internet. An electronic message created by a sender at a
particular messaging client is typically relayed through its server and a
network at least to the server that supports the intended recipient's
client system. For certain types of electronic messaging systems, such as
instant messaging systems, the electronic message may be forwarded all
way to the messaging client where it pops up on a display included in the
client system without a need for action by the user of the messaging
client.

[0026]There can be subtle differences among different types of electronic
messaging systems. FIG. 2 shows additional detail for a typical e-mail
messaging system. An e-mail client typically includes a computer hardware
device 42 that is most commonly a general purpose device controlled, at
least in part, by operating system software 44 and running an e-mail
client application program 46, all of which work together to provide
e-mail functionality for human user 40. The e-mail client is supported by
an e-mail server that includes a server hardware device 50 with its own
operating system software 52 and an e-mail server application 54. The
server and the client are normally connected through a local network 48
that can either be a wired network implementing a communications protocol
such as an ethernet protocol or a wireless network implementing at least
one standard wireless communication protocol.

[0027]The e-mail server device 50 is typically connected to a wide area
network 56 that includes standard networking devices such as switches,
routers, etc. that are used in used in routing e-mail messages between
widely separated e-mail servers. The details of the communications
protocols that are used to connect clients to servers or servers to
servers are not important to an understanding of the invention and will
not be discussed.

[0028]Although not shown in the Figure, the recipient of an e-mail message
also uses an e-mail client and an e-mail server of the type discussed
above. Typically, e-mails addressed to a recipient are held in storage at
the server that supports the recipient's client until the recipient logs
into the e-mail system and retrieves the stored messages.

[0029]FIG. 3 shows some details of an instant messaging system, which is
architecturally very similar to an e-mail system. Each human user 60 uses
a client system that includes a hardware device 62, operating system
software 64 and an instant messaging or IM client application 66. The IM
client is supported by an IM server including a server hardware device 70
that is controlled by operating system software 72 and that executes an
IM server application 74. The IM server interfaces with other IM servers
(not shown) through a wide area network 76.

[0030]A comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 show that e-mail systems and instant
messaging systems are basically architecturally identical at the level
illustrated. More commonly than not, the same client hardware device and
server hardware device runs both e-mail software and IM software either
as independent program applications or as integrated components of a
single, multi-functional messaging application.

[0031]The architecture of a voicemail electronic messaging system can be
different than the architectures of typical e-mail or IM messaging
systems. For one thing, a human user 80 can interact with a remote
voicemail system through a standard telephone, such as cell phone 82
shown in FIG. 4, without being a subscriber to a voicemail service. A
standard cell phone may or may not include control logic that facilitates
its use in a voicemail messaging system, but may instead interact with a
remote voicemail messaging system through the use of key sequences
entered through the cell phone keypad. The use of key sequences enables
the user 80 to interact with a telephone system server 84 associated with
a telephone 90 used by a second telephone user 92. The telephone system
server 84, in addition to normal telephony functions, can execute a
voicemail application 86 that stores a voicemail message provided by a
remote caller, such as user 80, in the telephone system server 84 until
retrieved by user 92. Thus, an originating user 80 does not necessarily
have to be supported by his or her own voicemail server in order to make
use of a remote voicemail server associated with a recipient.

[0032]However, it is likely that both senders and recipients of voicemail
messages in systems implementing the present invention will have a common
employer that controls voice mail servers used by both senders and
recipients.

[0033]In basic terms, the present invention allows the sender of an
electronic message to provide incentive for a recipient of that message
to respond in a timely manner by (1) designating the electronic message
as a time-critical message, and (2) establishing a time period within
which the recipient must respond to the time-critical message (i.e., an
allowable response time) before the functionality of the recipient's
messaging system is affected. If the recipient fails to respond to the
time-critical message within the allowable response time, for example,
the recipient messaging system may be prevented from receiving other
electronic messages until the recipient transmits a response to his or
her messaging server. An alternative, but more draconian, functionality
change might be to disable the recipient's messaging system from
performing any function other than preparing and transmitting a response
to the time-critical message.

[0034]FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a generalized process for receiving and
processing time-critical messages at an electronic messaging server
supporting a recipient/user. Because the operation of the present
invention can involve changing the functionality of a recipient messaging
system, the process is typically performed in the messaging system server
that supports the recipient messaging client.

[0035]The process begins with the receipt of an incoming electronic
message in an operation 100. The message is analyzed in an operation 102
to determine whether a "time-critical" flag is set in the message. If the
operation 102 indicates a time critical flag is not set (that is, that
the received message is an ordinary electronic message not indicated as
requiring a timely reply), the time-critical message process is
terminated without further action and normal electronic message
processing resumes. If, however, the time-critical flag is found to be
set, the message is analyzed or parsed in an operation 104 to retrieve an
"allowed response time" value included within the message. A timing
operation 106 is initiated, preferably by initializing a start count for
countdown timer. The start count value is dependent upon the retrieved
allowed response time. Once the countdown counter is initialized, it is
triggered to start the countdown towards zero.

[0036]Once the timing operation is initiated, the server begins to analyze
messages (operation 108) received from the target system to determine
whether one of those messages is a response to the time-critical message.
If no response to the time-critical message is identified, it is then
determined (operation 110) whether the timing operation has completed;
e.g., the countdown timer has counted down to zero. If the timing
operation is not completed, program control loops back to operation 108
to continue monitoring of messages received from the target system.

[0037]Once the initiated timing operation is determined (in operation 110)
to have been completed, the server must then check (operation 112)
whether changes in functionality of the target system have already been
made in a previous iteration of the process. On the first iteration of
the process, however, operation 112 will always find that the
functionality has not been reduced, leading to an operation 114 that
brings about the functionality changes. As noted earlier, reductions in
target system functionality can include such changes as inhibiting
receipt of new electronic messages at the target system or preventing the
target system from performing any messaging function other than the
preparation and transmission of a response to the time-critical message.
Clearly, such changes in messaging functionality establish incentive for
the recipient of the time critical message to respond to that message.

[0038]If operation 112 indicates the functionality of the target system is
already been changed or if the functionality is reduced in operation 114,
program control loops back to the input of operation 108 to continue
monitoring messages received from the target system client in order to
determine whether any of those messages is a response to the
time-critical message. The program loop consisting of operations 108,
110, 112 and 114 will repeat until operation 108 detects a response to
the time-critical message.

[0039]Since a detected response may occur either before or after the
allowable response time has been exceeded, the state of the target system
must be established. An operation 116 is performed to determine whether
the functionality of the target system has already been reduced. If the
functionality of the target system has not already been reduced, meaning
the allowable response time has not been exceeded, the timing operation
is terminated (operation 118) and time-critical processing is terminated
without the functionality of the target system ever having been affected.
If the operation 116 shows that the functionality of the target system
was reduced before a response to the time-critical message was generated
in the target system, normal target system functionality is restored
(operation 120) at the target system and time-critical message processing
is terminated.

[0040]The flowchart discussed above depicts time-critical message
processing from the recipient's point of view. The flowchart shown in
FIG. 6 depicts time-critical message processing from the sender's point
of view.

[0041]Since the receipt of time-critical messages can have a significant
impact on recipients of those messages, the sender-side processing of a
time-critical message preferably requires an overt act by a sender to
designate a message as being time-critical before the message is
transmitted to the recipient. An operation 130 is used to determine
whether the sender has designated the message as being time-critical. If
the message is not found to have been designated as time-critical, any
time-critical processing steps are bypassed and the message is sent
without any time-critical designation in an operation 146.

[0042]If, however, operation 130 shows that the message has been
designated as time-critical, a determination must then be made as to
whether the sender has the authority to send time-critical messages. Not
every system user who is capable of sending an electronic message should
be authorized to designate a message as time-critical. Generally
speaking, the ability to designate messages as time critical is best
limited to executives and managers who have demonstrated critical need
for timely responses from message recipients.

[0043]The authorization process can take different forms but begins with
an operation 132 that determines whether the sender has already been
found to be authorized. Before actually using an e-mail or instant
messaging system, a user must have already completed a login process that
requires that he or she provides a user ID and password. The login
process authenticates the user; that is, provides some assurance that the
user is who he or she purports to be. Once a user is authenticated, a
stored profile associated with a user may be retrieved to determine the
authority of the user. If the retrieved profile indicates the
authenticated user has the authority to designate messages as being
time-critical, certain steps in the process can be bypassed. However, if
operation 132 fails to establish that the sender has already been
authorized to designate messages as time-critical, a separate
authorization process can be started in operation 134.

[0044]No particular authorization process is required for an
implementation of the present invention. A user may be prompted to enter
a password specific to the time-critical message process. Alternatively,
a user may be provided a scannable card that establishes the authority of
the cardholder to designate messages as time-critical.

[0045]A determination 136 is made to determine whether the sender is
authorized to designate messages as time critical. If the authorization
process fails, the designation of the message as time-critical is
rejected in an operation 138 and the sender is informed of the rejection
in an operation 140. Time-critical message processing is ended at this
point. If, however, the determination 136 shows that the sender is
authorized to designate messages as time-critical, the sender is prompted
(operation 142) to provide the allowable response time value; that is,
the time permitted the recipient of the message to provide a response
without the functionality of the recipient's system being affected. While
a default response time value might be suggested to the sender, it is
probably better to require that the sender to explicitly establish the
response time value each time time-critical messages are to be sent. Once
the allowable response time is established, a time-critical flag is set
(operation 144) in the message control information along with the
allowable response time and the message is sent in an operation 146.

[0046]Since a caller who wants to leave a message using a voicemail system
does not ordinarily have to be logged in to the system before initiating
the process of leaving a message, a different sender process may be
employed for such systems. The process begins when the caller initiates a
voicemail process in an operation 150, typically by selecting a
particular key or set of keys on the caller's telephone when prompted by
the voicemail system. Once the voicemail process is initiated, the caller
may designate (operation 152) the voicemail as being time-critical. If
the caller fails to designate the voicemail is being time-critical,
further time-critical processing is skipped and the message is recorded
and sent in an operation 160.

[0047]If the caller does designate the voicemail message as being
time-critical in operation 152, a determination must still be made as to
whether the caller is actually authorized to make that designation. The
caller is prompted (operation 154) to enter an authorization code or
password in the form of a particular key sequence associated with the
particular caller. If the password is not found to be valid (operation
156), the attempt to designate the voicemail message is time-critical is
rejected in operation 158 and the caller is advised of the rejection. In
at least in one embodiment of the invention, the voicemail process is not
explicitly terminated even if the caller's attempt to designate the
message is time-critical is rejected because it is assumed that a caller
who did not wish to leave any message other than a time-critical message
can implicitly terminate the process simply by hanging up the telephone.
Instead, the caller is given the option of recording and sending an
ordinary (not time-critical) voice mail message in operation 160.

[0048]FIG. 8 illustrates how the process of designating a time-critical
message can be handled in an e-mail template available to the sender. The
drawing shows only part of the complete e-mail template, including a
function bar 170 including typical user-selectable functions relating to
tasks performed in composing and sending any e-mail message. Different
e-mail clients will portray user-selectable functions in different ways
or under different names. The template also includes a message attribute
bar 174 (which is discussed in more detail below), a header area 178 that
typically includes the sender's e-mail address and some sort of
decorative graphic, and addressee/subject area 176, and a body area 180
in which the actual message content is entered.

[0049]To adapt such a template for use in a process for sending
time-critical messages, an additional Time Critical check box 182 is
added to the message attribute bar 174 along with a dialog box 184 into
which an allowable response time value can be entered, either directly or
by the use of spinner controls as shown in the Figure. In ordinary use,
selection of the Time Critical check box 182 by a sender will trigger the
process described above with reference to FIG. 6.

[0050]Situations will arise where a recipient of a time-critical message
cannot possibly respond to the message within the allowable response time
established in the message. For example, the recipient may be out of the
office when the e-mail is received at the addressee e-mail server. If the
addressee has set up an "Out of Office" message, as is often suggested by
employer e-mail guidelines, the Out of Office message itself is a
response that will terminate any time-critical timing operation initiated
when the time-critical message was received at the addressee's e-mail
server. In some e-mail systems, a single "Out of Office" status message
may be returned to a particular sender even where the sender sends
multiple messages to the recipient. In such systems, it may be preferable
for the first "Out of Office" message returned by a particular recipient
to any sender to inhibit use of the time-critical process until the
recipient's "Out of Office" status is terminated.

[0051]In instant messaging systems, the instant messaging addressee or
target must be logged onto the target instant messaging server in order
for the instant message to be received in the first place. If a
time-critical message is not received because the addressee is not logged
on, no timing operation can be initiated. Some instant messaging systems
give the sender an option of sending an e-mail message to a user who is
not logged on to an instant messaging server. Where a time-critical
e-mail message is sent as a substitute for an instant message, that
e-mail message will be processed just like any other time-critical e-mail
message.

[0052]In some instant messaging systems, a user can leave status messages
that indicate the user is logged onto the instant messaging system but
does not wish to or cannot receive instant messages for the present. For
example, a user may set up a Do Not Disturb status message, the meaning
of which is intuitively clear. While a system implementer could choose to
implement an instant messaging system in which time-critical message
designations are given priority over Do Not Disturb status messages, it
would perhaps be preferable to inhibit any time-critical instant messages
where an addressee had previously established a Do Not Disturb status.

[0053]In voicemail systems, users can ordinarily leave recorded messages
providing details as to why they are unavailable to answer a telephone.
However, it is well known that callers often don't listen to such
messages before taking steps to record a voicemail message. To deal with
impatient callers, it may be preferable to give voicemail users an option
of blocking time critical messages whenever the target user's phone is
not answered.

[0054]It may be preferable in some situations to implement the invention
as a dedicated message processing system 190 of the type shown in FIG. 9.
The major components of a dedicated message processing system will
include a timing component 192, a message storage component 194, a
functionality control component 196 for changing the functionality of a
recipient's messaging system when necessary, and a user interface 198.

[0055]The timing component 192 will include at least a message parser 200
for parsing an incoming e-mail message to determine, among other things,
whether the message is designated as time-critical and, if so, the
magnitude of the allowable response time value included in the message.
The timing component 192 also includes counter 202 for establishing the
allowable response time, counter control logic tool for controlling the
counter operation, change control logic 206 for establishing a counter
start time and termination control logic 208 for terminating the counting
process without changing the functionality of the target system when a
response is transmitted by the target system before the timing operation
completes.

[0056]Alternatively, the invention may be implemented by programming a
general purpose computer system having a functional infrastructure of the
type illustrated in FIG. 10. The infrastructure includes a system bus 210
that carries information and data among a plurality of hardware
subsystems including a processor 212 used to execute program instructions
received from computer applications running on the hardware. The
infrastructure also includes random access memory (RAM) 214 that provides
temporary storage for program instructions and data during execution of
computer applications and are read only memory (ROM) 216 often used to
store program instructions required for proper operation of the device
itself, as opposed to execution of computer applications. Long-term
storage of programs and data is provided by high-capacity memory devices
218, such as magnetic hard drives or optical CD or DVD drives.

[0057]In a typical computer system, a considerable number of input/output
devices are connected to the system bus 210 through input/output adapters
220. Commonly used input/output devices include monitors, keyboards,
pointing devices and printers. Increasingly, high capacity memory devices
are being connected to the system through what might be described as
general-purpose input/output adapters, such as USB or FireWire adapters.
Finally, the system includes one or more network adapters 222 that are
used to connect the system to other computer systems through intervening
computer networks.

[0058]The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the
architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of
systems, methods and computer program products according to various
embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the
flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion
of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for
implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted
that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the
block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two
blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially
concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse
order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted
that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and
combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart
illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based
systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of
special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0059]The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the
invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are
intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms
"comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify
the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,
and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or
more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,
and/or groups thereof.

[0060]The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of
all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended
to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in
combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The
description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of
illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or
limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and
variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without
departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was
chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the
invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary
skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with
various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

[0061]Having thus described the invention of the present application in
detail and by reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be
apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing
from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims. For
example, disabling functionality in a recipient system will impact both
the recipient and other users who later attempt to send electronic
messages to the "disabled" recipient. To reduce the impact on other
users, notices may be returned to those users to inform them the
recipient system temporarily cannot receive electronic messages. At the
same time, the undelivered messages may be queued for delivery to the
recipient once normal recipient system functionality is restored. This
and other variations and modifications fall within the scope of the
invention defined in the appended claims.